Martha Stewart's Trick To A 1-Pot Pasta Dish

One pot meals are the greatest thing to happen to food since sliced bread. The only thing that takes more time than making a meal, is cleaning up afterwards. One pot meals make clean-up a cinch, and sometimes they are even more convenient than using the slow cooker. Even Gwenyth Paltrow's luxury blog Goop shares versions of 1-pot pasta dishes that would leave any hurried household happy. So, it should come as no surprise that the lifestyle and homemaking guru Martha Stewart has a trick for making a 1-pot pasta meal that you need to try right now.

Stewart is always at the forefront of tricks and hacks to make living your best life easier, but when she posted her 1-pot pasta recipe back in 2013, it didn't trend the way you think it would have. In fact, there are plenty of critics of this method who think you should stick to the traditional way of making pasta by boiling it in its own separate pot. However, there are also plenty of advocates who have tried Stewart's trick, and think it is a great alternative on a hectic week night (via Pop Sugar).

Stewart's 1-pot pasta combines your water, pasta, tomatoes, onions, salt, herbs, and other flavorings in one simple pot. Then all you have to do is bring the mixture to a boil, stir, and serve. Yes, it is that easy. Still don't believe it? All you have to do is peruse the comments section of Stewart's recipe to realize the genius of this trick. "UNBELIEVABLY good and simple. Yes – this is the one pasta recipe that everyone should have in their recipe collection!!" one fan said. Another gushed, "I've made this several times and I love it. Easy, takes just a few minutes to gather the ingredients and make it. My family loves it."

Meanwhile, critics of the 1-pot pasta dish argue that pasta does better when you boil it separately from other ingredients. Otherwise, you get a concentration of starch that can ruin the flavor. However, these naysayers may be missing a key trick to making this meal a success. You must use the right pot and amount of water. The pot can't be too small, which is a common mistake when making any 1-pot meal. Goop notes that you need the right ratio of water, pasta, ingredients, and surface area to make a good 1-pot pasta meal.

The only way to know for sure is to try it for yourself. But once you do, you may never go back to the old way of making pasta. And if you like Stewart's 1-pot pasta meal, here is a list of other 1-pot meals you should definitely try.